Two compartment package



7 June 14, F. LONG ETAL TWO COMPARTMENT PACKAGE Filed Nov. 17, 1959 Hafiz/v 5 Lame y I? Q 550 B SHAW United States Patent York Filed Nov. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 853,620 Claims. (Cl. 206-47) This invention relates in general to new and useful improvements in packages, and more particularly relates to a novel two-compartment package particularly adapted for the shipping and mixing of two separate materials which are to be united whenused.

There are many items which are initially packaged as two separate materials and are then combined when used. These include foodstuifs, cooling mixtures, heating mixtures, adhesives, etc. Normally, these are packaged either in two separate packages, or within a single container, but in two independent compartments. -It is necessary to open the two packages or compartments and to mix the two components. Since the two components of the article in question .must be mixed together, it is highly desirable that the components be packaged in a container wherein the two components are within the same container, the container including an inner pouch and an outer pouch, and the inner pouch being so related with respect to the outer pouch that the inner pouch may be broken and the components of the article mixed within the outer pouch. However, heretofore, the rupture of the inner pouch without a like rupture of the outer pouch has presented a problem.

It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide a novel package which includes an inner pouch and an outer pouch containing two separate materials which may be combined to produce a desired mixture or compound, the two pouches being so connected together that when the container is tensioned in an endwise direction, rupture of the inner pouch is assured while the outer pouch remains Whole.

Another object of the invention is to provide a package comprising an outer pouch and an inner pouch, with the inner pouch being so disposed within the outer pouch and being formed of such materials, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the outer pouch, the inner pouch will be stressed to the point that it will rupture while the outer pouch remains whole, thus permitting materials within the two pouches to freely combine within the outer pouch.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel two-compartment package which includes an outer pouch and an inner pouch, the inner pouch having the ends thereof disposed between the ends of the outer pouch and be-- ing sealed thereto, and the' relative proportions of length, elongation and strength of materials of the two pouches being such that when endwise tension is applied to the container, the inner pouch will be stressed to the point of rupture while the outer pouch will remain whole, and the contents of the inner pouch may be disposed directly within the outer pouch for combining with the contents of the outer pouch.

With the above, and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawing:

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the package which is the subject of the invention, and shows the general outline thereof.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the pack- 3,255,872 Patented June 14, 1966 age of FIGURE 1, and shows further the general details thereof.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, taken through the end of the package along thesection line 33 of FIGURE 2, and shows the manner in which the ends of the two pouches are sealed together.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view taken through the side portions of the pouches along the section line 4-4- of FIGURE 2, and shows the general relationship thereof.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of one of the package, and shows the inner pouch thereof as it is in the process of rupturing.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the entire package is generally referred to by the numeral 10. The package 10 includes a two compartment container, generally referred to by the numeral 11. The container 11 includes an outer pouch, generally re ferred to by the numeral 12, and an inner pouch, generally referred to by the numeral 13.

The inner pouch is formed of two sheets of material 14 which are secured together along their edges to form edge seams 15. The sheets of material 14 are also secured together along their ends to form end seams 16. The inner pouch 13 contains a first material 17.

The outer pouch 12 is formed of two sheets of material 18, Which are sealed together along their edges to form edge seams '19. The sheets of material 18 are also sealed together along their ends to form end seams 20. As is best illustrated in FIGURE 3, the ends of the inner pouch 13 are disposed between the ends of the outer pouch 12, and in the formation of the end seams 20, the ends of the inner pouch 13 are sealed to the ends of the outer pouch 12. On the other hand, as is best illustrated in FIGURE 4, the sides of the inner pouch 13 are entirely free of the sides of the outer pouch 12. The outer pouch 12 is filled with a second material 21, which material is different from the material 17, but may be combined therewith. The material 21 surrounds the inner pouch 13, as is best illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4.

The materials 17 and 21 may be any of a plurality of combinations of materials. It is to be understood that the materials 17 and 21 are to be combined to produce either a desired reaction, or a desired mixture or compound. It is also to be understood that the materials 17 and 21 are to be combined within the outer package 12 with the material 17 entering into the outer pouch 12 by the rupture of the inner pouch 13. It is also to be understood that the inner pouch 13 is to be ruptured while the outer pouch 12-remains whole, with the rupture of the inner pouch 13 without the rupture of the outer pouch 12 being assured.

The ends of the inner pouch 13 being secured to the ends of the outer pouch 12, when an endwise tension is placed upon the container 11, it is possible to stress the inner pouch 13 to the extent that it will rupture while the outer pouch will remain whole. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary that the relative proportions of length, elongation and strength of materials of the two pouches be controlled.

It is feasible for the pouches 12 and 13 to be formed of the same material and to have the same general lengths. The inner pouch 13 may be weakened, such as by providing notches 22 in the side seams thereof adjacent at least one end thereof. Thus, when the package '10 is endwise tensioned, the elongation of the pouches Hand 13 would be the same, but the pouch 13 would rupture due to the weakening thereof through the provision of the notch or notches 22. This, of course, is the simplest form of the invention. In order to further assure the rupture of the inner pouch 13 while the outer pouch 12 remains whole, it is proposed that the outer pouch 12 be of a greater length than the inner pouch 13 so that when an endwise tension is applied on the container 11, the inner pouch 13 will be highly stressed, while the outer pouch 12 will be relatively lowly stressed, if stressed at all, with the result that the inner pouch 13 will rupture while the outer pouch 12 will remain whole.

Another way of assuring the rupture of the inner pouch 13 while the outer pouch 12 remains whole is to form the inner pouch 13 of materials having very low elongation and relatively low tear strength as compared to the materials of the outer pouch 12, Thus, when endwise tension is applied to the container 11, the outer pouch 12 will elongate and remain whole while the inner pouch 13 will be overstressed and will rupture.

In the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein, all three of the foregoing factors have been combined into one in order to provide a two compartment container wherein rupture of the inner pouch of the container is assured while the outer pouch remains whole. Thus, the container 11 is formed of pouches wherein the outer pouch 12 is longer than the inner pouch 13, the inner pouch 13 is weakened by the provision of the notches 22, and the inner pouch 13 is formed of materials having very low elongation and relatively low tear strength as compared to the material of the outer pouch 12. Of course, as pointed out above, it is not necessary to combine all three of these features in a single container.

At the present time, it is preferred to make the inner pouch of a paper laminate because of the resistance of paper to elongation and its well-known tendency to tear. These laminates may include a paper polyethylene laminate, a paper polypropylene laminate, a paper nylon laminate, and a paper vinyl copolymer laminate. These laminates may be prepared by extruding the resin in question onto the paper surface, adhering a plastic film to the paper surface by a suitable adhesive, or by coating the resin onto the paper surface from a solvent solution or water dispersion.

The requirements for the outer pouch 12 are not as restrictive as those for the inner pouch 13. Any plastic film or plastic film laminate having an appreciable elongation at room temperature may be used. These may include polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, heat sealed coated polyester film, vinyl polymers, and other similar thermoplastic film or laminates consisting of one or more of these materials in conjunction with each other or with cellophane. From an economic standpoint at the present time, the construction most commonly to be used will most likely be an inner pouch 13 formed of paper coated with approximately one mil of polyethylene, and the outer pouch 12 may be formed of polyethylene film, having a thickness of approximately two to three mils. When this arrangement is used, due to the high elongation of polyethylene, the outer pouch 12 need not be appreciably longer than the inner pouch 13. On the other hand, when laminates are used in the formation of the outer pouch 12, the outer pouch 12 may have to be as much as percent longer than the inner pouch 13.

The container 11 may be used for the packaging of foodstuffs, which may include two mutually reactive materials, or dehydrated foods and water, or the containers may be used for packaging materials, such as adhesives wherein the catalyst or hardener is packaged in the container inner pouch, and the outer pouch contains polyester or epoxy resins. Also, the container 11 may be utilized to form a cooling pouch which contains an anhydrous endothermic salt, such as ammonium nitrate, and water, or heating pouches containing an anhydrous exothermic salt, such as calcium chloride, and water. These, of course, are only a few of the many materials which may be packaged in the container 11.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the desired end. However, attention is again directed to the fact that variations may be made in the example package disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, and the relative proportions of the length, elongation and strength of material of said inner pouch being substantially less than the relative proportions of length, elongation and strength of material of said outer pouch such that when endwise tension is applied to said container, said inner pouch will rupture and the contents of said inner pouch may be disposed directly within said outer pouch,

2. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said inner pouch being formed of a material having relatively low elongation and relatively low tear strength as compared to the material of said outer pouch, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the container, said inner pouch will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

3. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said inner pouch being formed of a material having relatively low elongation as compared to the material of said outer pouch, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the container, said inner pouch will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

4-. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said outer pouch being of a greater length than said inner pouch, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the container, said inner pouch will be stressed and will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

5. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said outer pouch being of a length at least as great as that of said inner pouch, and said inner pouch being formed of a material having relatively low elongation as compared to the material of said outer pouch, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the container, said inner pouch will be stressed and will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

6. The package of claim 2 wherein said inner pouch is weakened along one edge thereof to facilitate tearing.

7. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed Within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said outer pouch being of a greater length than said inner pouch, and said inner pouch being formed of a material having a relatively low tear strength as compared to the material of said outer pouch, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the container, said inner pouch will be stressed and will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

8. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said outer pouch being of a greater length than said inner pouch, and said inner pouch being formed of a material having relatively low elongation as compared to the material of said outer pouch, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the container, said inner pouch will be stressed and will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

9. The package of claim 4 wherein said inner pouch is weakened along one edge thereof to facilitate tearing.

10. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said outer pouch being of a greater length than said inner pouch, and said inner pouch being formed of a material having relatively low elongation and relatively low tear strength as compared to the material of said outer pouch, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the container, said inner pouch will be stressed and will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

11. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch, said inner pouch having opposite ends thereof secured to respective ends of said outer pouch, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said inner pouch being formed of a paper plastic laminate and said outer pouch being formed at least in part by a plastic film, whereby when endwise tension is applied to the container, said inner pouch Will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

12. The package of claim 11 wherein said inner pouch is weakened along one edge thereof to facilitate tearing.

13. The package of claim 5 wherein said inner pouch is weakened along one edge thereof to facilitate tearing.

14. A package comprising a container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed Within said outer pouch and having separate walls therefrom, said inner pouch having projecting end portions directed outwardly of said inner pouch toward said outer pouch adapted to be grasped when it is desired to tension said container to open same, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, and the relative proportions of length, elongation and strength of material of said inner pouch being substantially less than the relative proportions of length, elongation and strength of material of said outer pouch such that when tension is applied to the inner and outer pouches of said container, said inner pouch will rupture and the contents of said inner pouch may be disposed directly within said outer pouch.

15. A package comprising container including an outer pouch and an inner pouch, said inner pouch being disposed within said outer pouch and having separate Walls therefrom, said inner pouch having projecting end portions directed outwardly of said inner pouch toward said outer pouch adapted to be grasped when it is desired to tension said container to open same, different materials contained in said inner and outer pouches, said inner pouch being formed of a material having relatively low elongation as compared to the material of said outer pouch, whereby when tension is applied to the inner and outer pouches of the container, said inner pouch will rupture while said outer pouch remains whole.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,687,130 8/1954 Cohen 206-47 2,714,974 8/1955 Sawyer 20647 2,735,543 2/1956 Trow 206-56 2,756,875 7/1956 Yochirn 20647 2,940,449 6/1960 Thomson 128-290 FOREIGN PATENTS 206,210 12/1956 Australia. 1,137,005 l/l957 France.

697,723 9/ 1953 Great Britain.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRU'MMOND, FRANKLIN T. GARRETT,

Examiners. 

1. A PACKAGE COMPRISING A CONTAINER INCLUDING AN OUTER PUNCH AND AN INNER POUCH, SAID INNER POUCH BEING DISPOSED WITHIN SAID OUTER POUCH, SAID INNER POUCH HAVING OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF SECURED TO RESPECTIVE ENDS OF SIAD OUTER POUCH, DIFFERENT MATERIALS CONTAINED IN SAID INNER AND OUTER POUCHES, AND THE RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF THE LENGTH, ELONGATION AND STRENGTH OF MATERIAL OF SAID INNER POUCH BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF LENGTH, ELONGATION SAID STRENGTH OF MATERIAL OF SAID OUTER POUCH SUCH THAT WHEN ENDWISE TENSION IS APPLIED TO SAID CONTAINER, AND INNER POUCH WILL RUPTURE AND THE CONTENTS OF SAID INNER POUCH MAY BE DISPOSED DIRECTLY WITHIN SAID OUTER POUCH. 